Defendant Admits Shooting as Manslaughter Trial Opens in Menden

Overview

• Prosecutors say a scaffold dispute in August last year ended when the 41-year-old fired at two workmen, one of whom died and the other was wounded.
• The defendant fled after the shooting and was traced with a European arrest warrant before being arrested in Serbia following a three-month search.
• At the Nov. 9 trial opening at the Landgericht Arnsberg the defendant admitted firing but said he was attacked with a knife and struck with a wooden plank and that he fired in self-defence.
• The weapon has not been found and the prosecution alleges eight shots while the defendant says he fired six and claims to have destroyed the gun, leaving forensic gaps that the court must resolve.
• Hearings are scheduled to run into January 2027 and will determine whether prosecutors can prove manslaughter and attempted manslaughter, a charge that in German law (Totschlag) focuses on intent rather than lesser offences.